Shades of Grey
by punnylove
Summary: Because Superman is not pure-white, Batman is not black, and Wonder Woman is not just red, white, and blue. A deeper look at the heroes of the Justice League, and the moments that make them human.
1. Aspirations

_Author's Note: A series of one-shots that takes a deeper look at the Justice League: who they are, what they live for, and what they will die for. Any ideas or suggestions? Review/PM me!_

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><p><strong>Aspirations<strong>

When Diana was a little girl, she wanted to be just like her mother. Queen Hippolyta seemed to be everything an Amazon should be—powerful, beautiful, and regal. Diana would practice walking like a princess, talking like a queen, and fighting like a warrior.

When she turned sixteen, her mother brought her onto the beach and told her about men. Diana walked onto the beach more-or-less a child, and she walked out a full-grown Amazon, vowing to never allow a male domination over her body, soul, or heart.

When Themiscyra received the cry for help, Diana rebelled against her mother for the first time—not because she felt any true sympathy for Man's World, but because she saw something impure in her mother's face as she refused Amazonian help—saw fear, loathing, and vengeance. It was not the Amazon way to hate.

Two years later she returned to defeat the man who'd imprisoned her Amazon sisters and mother in stone. In the end, Felix Faust is turned to dust and Hades is defeated, but as Diana stands before her mother she sees shame, not pride, on the woman's face.

She is stunned when her mother banishes her from Themiscyra, stunned more by the accusatory glance the older woman gives the black-cowled man at her elbow. When she gets home—real home, back in Man's World—she lies down on her bed and cries.

She weeps, because where Diana once saw strength, she now sees prejudice. Where she once saw regality, she now sees pride. So Diana cries with all the pain of a little girl who knows that the woman she's always wanted to be is not who she seemed, and that Diana never wants to let hatred transform her as it did her mother.

When Diana stands up, she no longer wants to be her mother, but Wonder Woman, who is pure and just and _loves_ people.

It is only later that she learns that to be truly complete, she must learn to be Diana as well.


	2. Too Much Love

**Too Much Love**

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><p>Bruce loves Clark, so he keeps Kryptonite on his body at all times and never lets his guard down. He lets the other man believe that he's deleted all the "special files" on Superman, and that he doesn't have <em>lists<em> of ways to take out the alien if it comes to that.

Bruce loves Clark, so he forces himself to memorize the best ways to kill him, because if that day comes when Superman starts wearing white, he knows that it'll be his job to put the man away. Permanently.

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><p>Bruce loves Diana, so he pushes her away. He gives her reasons, cites situations, tries to show her in every way that they will not <em>work<em>. He doesn't mention madmen who psychologically break their victims, or women who dress up as men and rape their victims, or psychopaths who keep collections of human skin.

Bruce loves Diana, so he forces himself to stay away to keep her safe from his enemies.

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><p>Bruce loves Wally, so he belittles him. He never laughs at his jokes, compliments his speeds, or congratulates him on his successes. He knows the Speedster thinks that Bruce looks down on him, but he'll let Flash think that if it means he'll try harder, run faster, <em>work harder<em> to stay alive.

Bruce loves Wally, so he hurts him to make him stronger.

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><p>Bruce loves Shayera, so he lets her go. He can understand betrayal, mistakes—the blurring between white and black that Diana has yet to understand. So he doesn't keep her in the League even though he knows his vote will turn the tide. He doesn't hold her and let her cry into his chest.<p>

Bruce loves Shayera, so he watches her fly away because if she stays for anyone but herself, she won't survive the next couple months.

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><p>Bruce loves John, so he pairs him up with the worst people possible. He sees the frustration in the Marine's eyes when he's forced to mentor Kara, understands the struggle when he finds both Mari and Shayera on his clean-up squad, knows that John gets closer and closer to cracking every time he works with Flash.<p>

Bruce loves John, so he forces him to bend so that John won't break.

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><p>Bruce loves J'onn, so he doesn't let him inside his head. The Martian might be the last of his kind, might have known all kinds of pain that Bruce never will, but he still holds a sort of innocence from the darkness that Bruce wears as an invisible mask.<p>

Bruce loves J'onn, so he keeps the Martian out and hopes to keep him pure for just a little longer.

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><p>He hears them complaining that he doesn't spend time with them, doesn't train with them, (<em>doesn't love them<em>), and scoffs, because they'll never know the nightmares that haunt him at night.

He loves them too much.


	3. Killer

_For Fallenarchangel, who requested a Flash fic._

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><p><strong>Killer<strong>

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><p>Flash hears voices when he fights, voices that tell him to where to strike, where the bodies of his opponents are most vulnerable. Flash hears voices that tell him to kill.<p>

People don't realize it, but it would be so easy for him. Before an enemy can blink he could have a fist through his throat, or a knee in his stomach. Wally can take out his opponents before they even know he's attacking, before _he _even knows he is attacking.

So he tries his best not to touch his opponents, preferring instead to dismantle their weapons, to trip them and conveniently knock them out, or, if he must—to trip himself and expose himself to the bullets, or rays, or bombs.

When the Justice League grows, however, suddenly he can't do that anymore. Suddenly he's not the weakest link, and there are younger, weaker heroes who need his help, and he can't take the time to dismantle machinery. Suddenly, he is the one leading the team of three and Kara is unconscious, Vigilante's arm is scarlet with blood, and Wally knows that if he wants to keep them alive, he has to move.

So he fights. Wally rushes at Bullet, whose machine-gun of an arm just filled Vigilante's shoulder with bullets, and struggles to focus.

_One millisecond: **Take out the head, Flash. There are fifteen ways to end his life right now. Snap his nose into his brain, or crack his skull, or break his neck—**_

_Two milliseconds: **The chest, Flash. Vibrate your fist through his stomach, use his own gun to carve a sphere in his side—**_

_Three milliseconds: **His limbs, Flash. Maim him for life—there are four places where you can disconnect his arms and legs permanently—**_

And then the man-made monster is there, and Wally's fist is in the air. **_Do it!_** the voice screams, and Wally brings it down on Bullet's back, knocking the genetically enhanced man onto his stomach. **_Finish him!_**

He ties the man up instead, even though he knows that this just means Bullet will be alive to threaten the people again. He does not snap the man's neck, or paralyze him from the neck down—because he will not become a murderer. He will not compromise.

**_You're a fool._**

"Shut up," he mutters, more out of habit than anything, because the voice is already fading and he knows it will not return until the next time he's speeding towards a target and again faced with the chance to take him or her out permanently. But Wally can't kill, because if he does the world will end.

He's not stupid. He knows that Batman's killed, John's slaughtered hundreds in the Marines, and Shayera has probably had a fair share of deaths on her hands. He can guess that J'onn took out a couple of the organization who captured him to perform tests on him. He never thought Superman would kill, and then they met the Justice Lords and he saw the look in the other man's hard eyes. Diana—Wally doesn't want to think about a world where the Amazon would kill, but she is a warrior born and he knows that they were taught to fight to the death from birth.

So that leaves him, Wally West, the Flash—and the only one keeping the Justice League from turning into the Justice Lords. "I'm your conscience," he remembers himself telling Superman confidently, but now he looks at himself in the mirror and wonders.

_If the conscience of the Justice League hears voices telling him to kill—maybe we're more of a menace than a good._


	4. Caught In a Dream

_Written as a thank you for "Caught in a Dream," who was kind enough to post the longest, sweetest review I've received for this story. Hope you like it!_

**Caught in a Dream**

John really hates video games, soap operas, and dreams.

It wasn't always this way. John still remembers himself as a boy blasting away happily at the local arcade, spending all his allowance for two hours of blasting aliens and blowing up buildings. He used to beg Santa, (and later, his parents) for the newest games, and spent each birthday and Christmas with his fingers crossed. Then he grew up, joined the Marines, and started doing those things for real. When he went home on his first leave of absence and found all his childhood electronics still untouched in his room—he plugged one in on a whim and found that his calloused fingers refused to work.

As the red sign, "You're Dead," flashed across the screen, John found himself standing up robotically and neatly gathering all the games he could find. After they were stacked into two neat rows on his kitchen table, he took out his gun and emptied it into the electronics.

He's always hated soap operas, even after he stopped thinking girls had cooties. They were just so _frustrating_, with the female leads who bounced indecisively back and forth between two prospective suitors before finally choosing the one who was obviously wrong for them. Then he grew up, joined the Justice League, and fell in love with Shayera Hol. Two years later he was still in love with her but dating Mari, with the knowledge that he will have a son with Shayera one day—a beautiful boy named Rex…

When he catches Kara laughing at a soap opera while on Monitor Duty, he pretends that his fury comes from her not paying attention to her job. When Superman scolds him later for being too harsh, (_she's just a kid, John, and what's the harm?_) he grunts but refuses to apologize, because the sooner Kara realizes that love is just as complicated as the soap operas she laughs at, the better.

John hates dreaming. In his dreams, he's married to Shayera, they have a son, and he and Mari never fell in love. He's something tame—an accountant, or a bus driver—someone who's never held a gun or a ring that can kill in less than a second. He's innocent. He's happy.

And he never wants to wake up.


	5. Alcohol

**Alcohol**

Shayera drinks her first beer when she's five. Her father's training just resulted in her wings being broken—_again_—and she really needs something to dull the pain. So when her mother wordlessly resets her wings and hands her the drink, _(He's trying to make you stronger, dear.)_ she downs the liquid without a thought.

By the time she's seven she's traveled to over fifteen planets, and finds it hilarious that every one of them has its own brand of alcohol. She samples each one, but never gets drunk. She doesn't want to risk being anything less than completely alert with her father still intent on turning her into the perfect Thanagarian warrior.

When Shayera is thirteen, she tries to quit drinking. Two days into it, she comes in second place at her school's athletic decathlon and her father screams at her for being stupid, shameful, and worthless. By the time he's done she's crying, which makes him even angrier because "_warriors don't cry, you pathetic-excuse-for-a-daughter_." That night she drinks herself to a stupor and throws it all up when she pushes herself through the decathlon course ten timeis the next morning.

At sixteen, she's pretty sure she has a problem, but is too tired to care. She's top of her class, far above athletes twice her age, and has no social life. Her father scoffs when she asks him for permission to attend parties—freak athlete or not, her family has standing—and Shayera feels the loneliness acutely as she flies to school.

She gives up drinking at twenty-one, when Hro Talak kisses her and tells her he loves her. They've been dating for three weeks, and she's barely gotten used to not being alone, but Hro's eyes are sincere and her father approves of him so Shayera kisses him back and feels her need for alcohol abate—just a little. Hro hates the drink and so she avoids it, and gradually she learns that she can live without beers.

She starts drinking again at twenty-three, when she meets John Stewart, because she's a _spy _and she shouldn't be feeling anything but curiosity about _anyone _on Earth, let alone a very strong attraction to one of its protectors. She learns that he hates alcohol too, (_just like Hro_), but drinks anyway, because she _won't _be influenced by a man she'll betray.

Her heart starts to crack when she's nursing a beer after a particularly tough fight and he walks over with another can.

"I thought you hated the stuff," she snarked. _Go away—I can't like you_.

"I do." He opened it, sipped it, and made a face. "But beers aren't meant to be drunk alone."

Shayera looks at him, and thinks about Hro, about her father, about her _life_, and feels her heart splintering, so she downs the beer, feeling the familiar acrid taste burn down her throat. She wonders if it'll hurt more to walk away than to keep drinking, and shrugs, because when has she ever really given up alcohol?

Everyone in the Justice League has their own coping strategies, and as Shayera downs another beer and feels her head cloud, she relishes the chance to forget her lies and enjoy the feeling of John's hair in her hands and their lips pressed together.


	6. Blind Spots

_For Amanthya, who wrote a long, wonderful review that made me smile. Unfortunately, no request for a specific fic was mentioned, but since he/she did mention that he/she loved BM/WW and Shayera/GL, I decided to write a fic on them._

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><p><strong>Blind Spots<strong>

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><p>Batman respects Green Lantern as a military man, a logical tactician, and a courageous fighter. He trusts the man to guard his back, and has done so on numerous occasions. Among the Justice League heroes, Superman may be the kindest, Wally the most cheerful, and J'onn the most understanding, but Batman has always regarded John Stewart as the practical one, the one who sees what needs to be done and does it.<p>

So why can't the man realize that he's choosing the wrong woman?

Batman has nothing against Mari, tries to stay out of the personal matters of others, and certainly never considered himself a matchmaker—but the fact that John Stewart is obviously in love with Shayera Hol is so obvious even _Wally _can see it.

And for Batman—who sees things others miss and notices details that even Superman's super-senses don't catch—it's torture. If he has to watch them accidentally touch for too long and then jerk away from each other when they realize what they're doing—if he has to listen to their stilted conversations and awkward glances_ one more time_, someone _else _is going to pay the bills for the Watchtower, because Bruce Wayne is _out of there_.

He's five minutes from assigning them both indefinite Monitor Duty when he, John, and Diana get sent to the future and they meet Rex. The next couple hours are pure bliss, because despite being terrified because Diana is _gone_ and they might never get her back, a little part of his mind is singing, _"finally_, no more sexual tension, no more awkward non-meetings, no more moping Thanagarian sparring partners…"

When they get home, he feels _way too much_ relief at seeing Diana safe, though clueless of the adventure she'd participated in, and waits in eager anticipation for John to get up the courage to go talk to Shayera.

He expects shrieks of joy, or at least for the two to disappear for a couple hours. Instead, he gets an emotional Hawkgirl who corners him and demands to know what her son is like.

For such a practical man, John really is a moron.

XXXXXXXXXX

Green Lantern respects Batman as a man who manages to keep a playboy billionaire as his alter ego, provide the brains of the Justice League and still manage to keep Gotham from turning into even worse of a cesspit than it already is. He trusts the man every day, obeying his orders without even giving them a thought and ordering everyone around him to do the same. The man is brilliant, after all, and John always expects him to come up with a plan, no matter what.

So why can't the man realize he's in love?

John Stewart has never been one for cheesy, drawn-out romances, so he can't help but feel nauseous when he realizes the man he's always looked up to as an intellectual leader is playing the role of "angsty/tragic antihero who needs a loving, always-supporting blossom to guide him out of darkness," especially since Diana is more likely to try to punch some sense into him than gently nurture him until he learns to "trust her with his fragile heart."

She's a warrior, not a damsel, and John's more-than-positive that there are hundreds, if not thousands of men who will cut off their right arm to get a date with Wonder Woman.

He's moments away from using his ring to trap them both in a closet until Batman finally gets his rear-in-gear and admits he loves her, and then they get transported to the future and he watches as Batman meets the Ghost of Christmas Future, (a.k.a. "old Bruce Wayne").

He grins after that—because even though he's terrified because _there's a boy with his face and Shayera's wings_, and he's not sure what that means for him and Mari—after seeing his future self without Diana, Bruce can't possibly find an excuse not to admit his feelings for her.

When they arrive back in their time, he feels something that definitely shouldn't be there when he sees Shayera, but forces himself to look away just in time to see Bruce watching Wonder Woman with a look on his face that John notes is almost—happy.

After Batman goes to talk with her, John expects the two to emerge hands linked, or at least looking dazed. Instead, he gets a blank look from Diana when he hints at the adventure they'd just had and an emotionless Batman who explains that she somehow lost all her memories on the way back.

"That's what you went to tell her?" he demands, and when Bruce refuses to reply he buries his head in his hands and groans.

For such a brilliant man, Bruce really is an idiot.


	7. Stronger and Comparisons

_Written for Kiuesque, whose long and detailed review really made me look at this fic in a different light. Her/his comment on how Chapter 2's Batman/Wonder Woman moment has been written very many times really struck home, and so I decided to re-explore that snippet. Also, since Kiuesque also mentioned that he/she was a HG/GL fan, I decided to tack on a short mini-fic about them. Thank you for your wonderful review and I hope you enjoy these!_

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><p><strong>Strong<strong>

Bruce loves Diana, so he pushes her away. He gives her reasons, cites situations, tries to show her in every way that they will not work. He doesn't mention madmen who psychologically break their victims, or women who dress up as men and rape their victims, or psychopaths who keep collections of human skin. Bruce loves Diana, so he forces himself to stay away to keep her safe from his enemies.

She would hate him if she knew—for Diana is as proud as she is beautiful and just as fierce about being acknowledged as an equal as she is about protecting the weak. She would remind him that, physically, she is almost the equal of Superman and while she does not have heat-vision or super-powered hearing, she can fly just as fast and pull the truth out of her enemies with her lasso—a feat even he, for all his intimidation techniques, can't accomplish perfectly.

She'd cite reasons and examples, and he would be forced to admit the other reasons they cannot, and never, be together. He knows that she is strong, knows that she could probably flatten the Joker with one hand and wrap Poison Ivy's vines around the green-clad woman's throat with the other. And that worries him even more than her getting hurt.

Diana is strong—almost too strong. He's seen the struggle in Clark's eyes as the alien forces himself to hold back and not to lose control, and it worries him that Diana doesn't do the same. She is all emotion and power as she shoots into her enemies, and her punches are pulled not by conscious will but by a subconscious wall that forbids her to kill.

A wall that he knows will shatter if they become something more than friends and one of his enemies kill him.

Diana is not human, a fact that he remembers every time he sees her perfect features, her amazing physical prowess, and her regal bearing. She is a Themiscaryan princess, thrice blessed by the gods of Olympus and the god-daughter of several of its female deities.

When she first came to Earth, she came, not because of any love for humanity, but because she saw injustice and her Amazon blood could not abide that. Even now she struggles with her frustration at the horrors humanity accomplish seemingly effortlessly. Bruce knows that she is learning, has seen her eyes soften at the adoration of the children who crowd around her when she goes out as a civilian, but there is still distance between her and the people she protects.

And because of that, Bruce fears that if she is pushed hard enough—if that wall within her snaps—she will kill. First his murderer, and then perhaps all murderers, and then who knows?

Bruce knows the darkness very well. He cloaks himself in it, seeing the murderer in himself while keeping it firmly at a distance—but Diana wasn't made to be anything but pure, powerful colors and if she turns dark, Bruce fears that she will never regain her light.

So he pushes her away, not because she is weak—but because she is too strong, and he does not want to see Wonder Woman with blood on her delicate hands because he has allowed her to love him. For he is mortal—and is all too aware of the fact—and when he dies, he does not want it to lead to more deaths, not even the deaths of his murderers.

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><p><strong>Comparisons<strong>

_John Stewart is nothing, and yet extremely, like Hro._

Shayera watches the man bench press weights in the gym from the balcony of the Watchtower and muses about the man she loves and the man she is falling in love with.

They are both military men, strong and disciplined, who know the horrors of war and yet have emerged from it stronger than before. They are both leaders, able to command when needed and yet strong enough to follow orders when their own commanders give them.

They are both stubborn and understand that, in a battle, sometimes casualties are necessary. She has seen the sorrow in Hro's eyes as he attended a soldier's funeral, and has seen the same pain on John's face whenever he visits Vigilante, who is still recovering from their brief battle with Giganta. And she knows, that if necessary, both men would repeat the fights again.

And yet, there are subtle differences between the two, for while Hro is all man, John Stewart still acts like a boy in some respects. She watches his muscles strain to push up the weights, and remembers him sledding in the snow with her. She recalls the way he teased her when she drank too much at the Christmas party and fell flat on her rear in the middle of dancing with him.

And she remembers the wistfulness in his eyes as he watched her flying—how at first she'd thought he was jealous of her wings, but later realized that his eyes were focused on her face, not the feathers on her back.

Shayera tells herself she loves Hro, and that she is just lonely, but as John catches sight of her and smiles, she feels her heart thump at the boyish look in his usually serious gaze and knows that she's in trouble.

After all, didn't Earthlings have a saying about those who compared their boyfriends to their ex's?


	8. Family

**Family**

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><p>If anyone had asked Wally, he would have said Wonder Woman was the mother of the Justice League. Sure, she was the female symbol—the one everyone thought of when they thought of feminine power—but her role as the mother went so much further than that.<p>

She was the one to storm Bruce's cave and make sure he was eating after the Joker incident with Tim, the one to seek him out every day after the Justice Lords incident to make sure he was ok, the one to break the jaw of the reporter who wouldn't stop ragging on Hawkgirl.

She's also the one who always insists on a monthly dinner together—a meal where the seven founding members can just relax and hang-out. Where Wally can joke and be the youth he is again, where John can lose some of the tenseness in his shoulders and Bruce can make sarcastic comments at Clark.

And Diana sits, proudly serving food as she watches over her family, the Nurturer of the group.

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><p>If anyone had asked Diana, he would have said Batman was the father of the group. Sure, Clark had all the "official" statuses as the technical founder of the Justice League, and if the league had been nothing but a band of superheroes, then perhaps Clark would have been the father.<p>

But it wasn't just a band of superheroes. The Justice League was a powerful force in itself, and their influence stretched far beyond the police stage. They operated on a social level, a political level, and even an economic level. Politicians sought to have their public support or denounced them. Insurance agencies and the IRS screamed for red tape and taxes.

Clark, despite being the Man of Steel, was really a farm boy from Kansas, and before that he'd been an alien from Krypton. So, it was money-savvy, people-smart Bruce who'd taken over the Justice Leauge, operating behind-the-scenes, which was just fine with him.

But, Diana mused, he also went out of his way to do other things as well. He consistently refuses to stop working—but she noticed that he always made time to snap at Wally or train with Clark. He never forgets to check on the founding members' training reports, and once, when Hawkgirl had been doing especially poorly, he arranged it so that she had monitor duty for a month.

He may not show it as Clark does, but Bruce cares about his family, the Protector of the group.

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><p>If anyone had asked Bruce, he would have said that Clark was the uncle of the Justice League. Sure, he was technically far more wealthy and could afford to buy many more extravagant gifts, but it was Clark who sat down with each founding member and made them laugh.<p>

Clark was the one who arranged for Hawkgirl to learn English after he realized that the woman couldn't read the language, despite being fluent in almost a hundred others. It was Clark who encouraged Wally to be the best that he could possibly be—and then some.

It was Clark who pulled Diana back from the rage she'd gone into after Luthor had nearly killed Batman and reminded her of why they were better than the villains they fought.

And it is Clark who sits at the head of the table, smiling over his family, the Affirmer of the group.


	9. Necessary

**Necessary**

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><p>Superman always keeps an eye out for Wally during fights. The others naturally gravitate towards the Speedster too, because fastest man alive or not, he is the youngest of them all—but Superman takes special care to remain by his side if possible. He tells himself it has nothing to do with the Justice Lords, and how his counterpart almost killed Flash.<p>

But he is practical enough to know that just because they've seen the Justice Lords' world doesn't mean they won't create one just like it if the Speedster is killed, because when all is said and done, Wally is still their conscience, and they love him for it.

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><p>Flash always keeps an eye on John during battles—firstly because the man is his best friend, secondly because he's Hawkgirl's love, and thirdly because without the military man's discipline, the entire league will fall apart.<p>

Batman may design the programs and analyze the results, but John Stewart is the one barking orders in the training room, jogging alongside those who feel like they can't go a step further and forcing exhausted recruits to run the obstacle course until they beat their best time.

Clark may smile, shake hands, and welcome new members, but John's the one they know, because he is the one who will train them into the heroes they never thought they could be. He'll run a course with them and yell all the way until they wonder how the heck he manages to sprint five miles and talk the whole way too.

So Flash runs a little faster when he spots his best friend in trouble, because John Stewart is essential to the Justice League.

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><p>John always keeps an eye out for Bruce during fights. The others—especially Diana—guard the only non-meta of the group too, because no matter how strong, how fast, or how skilled Batman is he is only human and can't take the punches like they can. And he can't fly.<p>

Diana and Superman can fly, Hawkgirl has wings, J'onn can form wings, and even Wally can do that vacuum thing with his arms that keeps him aloft—but if Batman falls from the sky, he has nothing to stop him from hitting the earth. And though he'd give his life for Bruce, the military man inside him knows that the Justice League won't survive without Batman's tactics or Bruce Wayne's funding.

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><p>J'onn always keeps an eye out for Hawkgirl during fights. Before the Thanagarian invasion he watched Shayera because he could sense she was struggling and was afraid it would detract from her fighting skills—or fill her with so much fury that she took a life. After the invasion he does so because he knows that the bond that allowed the Justice League to fight as a unit and not just individual heroes had been damaged, and that someone with telepathic skills needed to be there in case Shayera pulled back when she should have trusted Diana to guard her sides.<p>

The women are opposites, always pulling at each other but also keeping each other in balance. They are both so passionate and powerful that, if unchecked, they could destroy themselves like an exploding star that creates a black hole as it bursts. If they lose Shayera, they lose Diana as well and without the two women the Justice League cannot stand.

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><p>Hawkgirl always keeps an eye out for Wonder Woman during fights. She knows that Batman does as well—as much as he is able to, at least—but no matter how good the man is he can't keep up with Diana in the air. Of course, Shayera loves Diana as the sister she never had, but she also guards her back because she knows that the day they lose Wonder Woman is the day they lose Batman.<p>

Even now only Wonder Woman's able to pull him out of his cave with any consistent success. Sometimes Superman can do it, Wally has managed it once or twice, and even she, John, and J'onn succeeded a couple times—but when it comes down to it, Diana's the only one who's able to march into his cave and order him outside without being in danger of getting injured.

If she's gone, Shayera knows exactly what will happen. Batman will retreat, forever lost in his work. Clark will grow bitter—and take one step closer to becoming his counterpart in white. Wally will blame himself for not being fast enough, and John will blame himself for not using his ring to save her. And perhaps they will lose J'onn as well, because Diana was the only one who understood how the Martian felt when she insisted that he needed to learn to love humanity.

She's got a part of all their hearts, and so Shayera gives a war cry and attacks when she sees her pinned, because they can't afford to lose her.

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><p>Wonder Woman always keeps an eye on J'onn, because she knows how easy it is to grow frustrated with the failings of humanity and how simple it is to count their lives as nothing. She too, is disgusted by how corrupt they can become, and frustrated at how easily they are persuaded to do evil.<p>

So she watches J'onn, because the day he decides humanity is not worth it is the day the Justice League, and perhaps the entire Earth, falls, because J'onn's more invulnerable than Superman, can shapeshift, _and _pass through solid objects, and if he turns against humanity, Diana doesn't know if they'll be able to stop him.

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><p>Batman always keeps an eye on Superman during battles, because he knows that without the Man of Steel, the Justice League is nothing but a group of heroes. Superman might not fight all their battles, might not be perfect, might make mistakes—but he is the face and identity of the Justice League, and what organization can function without their identity?<p>

He is the one the governments trust, the one that the people love. Even Cadmus, even _Luthor_ will listen to him when the situation is dire enough, because they know that he'll never abuse that authority. He is the one who symbolizes everything the Justice League believes in—purity, justice, and honor.

So Batman throws himself against opponents who are smart enough to know what he does, hoping that perhaps he'll be able to stop, or even weaken, Amazo (or Darkseid or Braniac) enough so that Clark survives.

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><p>The Earth does not understand—does not appreciate how lucky they are to have such a group of founding heroes, because each are essential and necessary to keep the Justice League alive, and like the intricate pieces of a watch—once one is removed, the others cannot stand.<p> 


	10. Meeting

_Here's a series of conversations a little less serious than the rest of the fic has been. Also written because Wally's not the only member of the Justice League who makes stupid comments._

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><p><strong>Meeting<strong>

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><p><strong>Date<strong>

"Let's try to get this meeting done on time this time, okay guys?"

"No worries, Supes. Gotta date tonight, so I can't stay long anyways."

"Really, Wally? Who's the lucky girl?"

"'Lucky' isn't quite the word I'd use."

"Yeah, and 'girl' might be a stretch too. You sure she isn't some alien in disguise?"

"Hardy har har. You and Bats just think you're _hilarious_, don't you? Well _in your face_, 'cause I'm going out with—"

"Wait. What's wrong with going out with aliens?"

"Well, you don't really _count_, Clark. You're a Kansas boy-scout, for crying out loud!"

"Well J'onn and I _aren't_, John. Is there something wrong with either of us?"

"What—no! I just meant—"

"Well?"

"…Shayera, help me out here?"

"No can do, big guy. I'm an alien too."

"…"

"What Lantern means, is that he's made a verbal error and that he's extremely apologetic to all who may have been offended."

"Very diplomatic of you, Bruce. The smug look ruins the effect, though."

"You're welcome, Princess."

"Ahem. If we're finally ready, let's get started."

"Man, and we never did get to find out who Wally's date was."

"Shut up, John."

"Yeah, what she said."

"Shut up, Wally."

* * *

><p><strong>Catfight<strong>

"I'm just saying that you should give him a _break_, that's all!"

"A _break?_ Booster Gold blatantly disrespected womankind by making advances on a reporter who was _clearly _not interested."

"Womankind? Oh, give me a break. He was _flirting_. We _do that_ on Earth."

"It's still disrespectful. And I resent your tone, Shayera. You haven't exactly been here long either."

"I wasn't raised on an island of women warriors. I've actually _met _men. I've flirted with people, and been flirted with. It's not as terrible as you make it sound."

"And how exactly do I make it sound?"

"Like he ordered her to kiss his feet! Tell me, Ms. "oh-flirting-is-so-bad-it's-moving-back-the-feminist-movement-forty-years," how would you even _know_ if she was being disrespected or not? You haven't exactly had a lot of experience."

"Why you—"

Superman cradled his head in his hands, wondering how his meeting had gone so awry. Next to him, Green Lantern poked Flash and mouthed, "Five bucks on Shayera."

"So on."

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><p><strong>Tabloids<strong>

"So, on the issue of public image—"

"Speaking of public image, have you guys read these lately?"

_Shuffling papers._

"Wally, why do you even have tabloid magazines? They're trash."

"Really? So you really _aren't _cheating on Supes with Bats?"

"Very funny. Let me see that…_Great Hera_."

"Princess?"

"Bruce, _look at this_. How did they even get this picture? I could have sworn that the ground was molten lava when we fought Magma."

"Tabloid reporters aren't human, Diana. I should know."

"Wait, aren't you a reporter, Kal? Surely you can enlighten us on how this supposed human being got a shot of me with my uniform half burnt off and Bruce's arms around my waist while a STAR lab monster tried to turn the world into a literal hell."

"Um…he probably climbed a helicopter, dropped down to a building that was approximately two-stories up and snapped the picture while half-dangling out the window."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…you're surprisingly knowledgeable about this, Supes."

"Um…"

"Is there something you need to tell us?"

"Well..."

"I say we jump him and take a picture of _him_ with his clothes all torn up and then force him into a compromising position."

"Second the motion."

"Third."

"All in favor?"

"Hey guys, look, I'm sorry okay—I needed a scoop or Lois was going to kill me—we all know this isn't true—"

"Get him."

"Roger that, Bats."

"I call the eyes."

"The hair."

"What—_ow. Let _go. _Let go. _I HAVE LASER VISION AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!"

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><p><em>Poor Superman. His meetings never seem to end on time, do they?<em>

Review and let me know what you guys think!


	11. Tabloids

**Tabloids**

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><p>Dear Sir or Ma'am,<p>

How long will it take you people to get it right? I am _not _with Hawkgirl, and I'm _not_ banging Wonder Woman. (I should be so lucky.) Stop posting stupid articles that'll get me in trouble with Bats and GL. I may be super fast, but those two are crazy when they're on a Flash-hunt.

If you want to print something 'bout me and the ladies, Fire's single. Jinx too, last time I heard.

Sincerely,

The Flash

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><p>Dear Ignorant Chauvinistic Pig,<p>

If I see one more picture of me without a decent amount of clothes on, I swear by _Hera_ that I will fly over to your sick little apartment, grab you, and wish you never developed the twisted mind it takes to draw such pictures. I do _not _enjoy nude photos of me pasted all over front covers of magazines, false or no.

You are quite talented, however. I've never seen my fellow Leaguers so red.

Cordially,

Wonder Woman, Princess of Themiscyra.

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><p>Paula Morton,<p>

I know where you live. Stop insinuating that I'm half bat.

Batman.


	12. Rumors

_Taking suggestions, feedback welcome._

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><p><strong>Rumors<strong>

* * *

><p>Rumors don't quite work the same way up in the Watchtower. Perhaps it's the fact that there are several mind-readers, psychics, and plain <em>smart<em> people who can, (and do) dispel particularly stupid tales like the very brief whisper that Batman was actually Batwoman.

Perhaps it was because the man previously mentioned found out the source of all the trouble—one mischievous Speedster—and effectively made sure he not only stopped spreading the rumor but that he would stop for a good long time. In other words, he taped Flash's mouth shut with a pain-free, but unbreakable concrete seal.

Yeah, the grapevine isn't quite the same in the middle of space, and without Wally West's careful nurturing, it withered. And that's where the problems started.

You see, without the middle ground of gossip to sustain them, many Justice Leaguers decided to skip that step and go straight to believing whatever rumor they'd made up in their heads. And so, guesswork became fact. Conjecture became reality. And the core members, especially, began to its effects.

Superman was walking down the hall, minding his own business, when he heard the snickering. Now, he knows better than anyone how important privacy is—being a journalist, he has to know when to set boundaries—but sometimes his super-hearing just activates without his permission. (Imagine a person hearing a group of people whispering and straining to hear. It's a natural instinct, a human reflex—Superman just happens to actually be able to hear the whispers when he tries.)

Ok, so maybe he listens a bit harder than he has to. Man of Steel or no, it's hard not to pay attention when Fire and Vixen are whispering about J'onn's illicit love affair with Oreos. Superman frowned. _Wait a minute…what?_

"I swear, he was crooning to them like they were the light of his life! I wouldn't be surprised if he had matching rings."

"Do you think he—" the green-haired woman blushed, "I mean, he _is _a shapeshifter."

Vixen laughed. "Oh honey, with a cookie? You dirty, dirty, girl."

A new voice joined theirs—Stargirl, Kara's friend. "Oh, that's old news," the teenager scoffed, and Superman could hear her tossing her head, "Did you hear about Batman and Wonder Woman?"

"Sweetheart, we know they're in the Bahamas, and that Wonder Woman has a soft spot for hot island natives—"

"No," Stargirl abandoned her lofty tone, too excited to keep the secret all to herself, "She's pregnant with twins…and rumor is they have wings!"

"That stalker Thanagarian, Carter Hol? With Wonder Woman? Oh dear…" Fire sounded speculative, "I wonder if he knows she's married to a man with a possessive streak the size of Mississippi."

Superman had heard enough. Batman, married to Wonder Woman? Diana _cheating_ on him with Carter Hol and "island natives?" Why hadn't he heard of this? And J'onn's cookie business—the journalist abruptly grabbed the Boy Scout in him by the collar and kicked him by to Kyrpton. _You idiot._

Superman made an abrupt turn and headed back for the control room, where Batman was on Monitor Duty. "Bruce, you have to—"

The Dark Knight turned and gave him a weary look. "I know, Clark. I already loosened his mouth. He's probably off somewhere, spreading the rumor that I'm engaged to _you_ or something."

Superman paused, shook his head to clear the very disturbing picture that had just popped in, and opened his mouth again. "It's almost like he planned it, isn't it?"

Batman groaned, running his hand through his hair. "He did, Clark. I can't prove it, but I promise you, somehow, he did."


	13. Training

_As always, thanks to my reviewers, who make me want to keep updating._

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><p><strong>Training<strong>

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><p><em>One, two, three, four…<em>

Wally panted as his body grew taut, the muscles screaming. Egypt, China, an expanse of ocean, New York, another ocean…land. He'd made it. Wally West, (a.k.a. the Flash, _the _fastest man in the world), has traveled around the world five times in three minutes and twenty seconds. Exactly.

He hurt like heck.

People thought running was effortless for him, that just because he was faster than everyone else meant he didn't have to train very hard. In a way, they were right. He didn't have to train very hard. He had to train harder.

Reading the newspaper sometimes, (yes, he does read the newspaper. Geez, he's _not _stupid, just young and hopeful.), he catches sight of articles praising Batman as the "true hero of the Justice League," and he wants to speed right into their offices and ask them if they know he spends just as much time—ok, maybe almost just as much time, Bats is _insane_ when it comes to training—as the Dark Knight honing his skills?

Do they know he's almost drowned in the Pacific Ocean because he was so exhausted he just couldn't keep moving?

Do they know that he's bruised all over because—when you're going as fast as him—even a tennis ball can feel like a bullet?

Do they know that J'onn's had to put him on constant watch because once, he passed out in the middle of Cairo?

_Ow,_ he thinks, and grimaces, sinking down into position. He loves to run, don't get him wrong, but it's not easy. He knows full well that he's the lifeline, the last resort—the one who can save a leaguer's life or let him die if he's not fast enough. They rely on him to disarm the human forces, because even one bullet aimed too close can kill Batman or maim Shayera or blind John. The worst part is—they don't even realize it, and so he doesn't get the special training John doles out, or the respect Batman immediately commands.

Forcing a smile, (it's the only part of his body not screaming at him to stop), he glances at the Big Ben Clock Tower of London and checks the time, watching as the second hand inches towards the twelve. _Five…four…three…two…_

And then he's gone, counting _one, two, three, four…_

* * *

><p><em>Fifty.<em>

Diana fights Superman—not Clark, not now, when he's got a hand on her throat and the other one swinging towards her stomach faster than the eye can follow—and feels herself fly backwards into the walls, the impact exploding throughout her body.

_Fifty-one._

They promised to stop when she took thirty blows, but she's not stopping, and, more importantly, neither is he. Superman fights, and in his mind Diana isn't Diana, she's the closest thing he has to a sparring partner and the only one able to take him going almost all-out. Diana, on the other hand, sees Clark behind Superman. She sees Kal, and the Supes that Wally jokes at, and the boy scout Bruce reprimands.

And she sees all the reasons she's still in the ring, even with a bleeding lip, a sprained arm, and probably inner damage. Amazons heal fast, and it's a small price to pay if it means that Superman/Clark/Kal will live another day. The world needs him. The Justice League needs him. She needs him.

Bruce needs him.

So she throws herself at him again and ducks under the blow—_aim for the left, he's always a little slow after a hit_—and kicks him down into the ground. Unlike him, she doesn't wait, but follows up the kick with a full body slam that knocks his head against the ground. The room reverberates with the impact, but luckily, the lonsdaliete enforced floor holds firm.

He's fast—_he's learning_—and even as he falls he's twisting and pushing her down underneath him, pushing her shoulders down so hard she hears them crack. A second later the weight is off her and she's flying towards the ceiling, feeling her vision go black in a flash of pain.

_Fifty-two._

And then she's back in again, because Amazons are warriors born, and the first rule her mother taught her was that, while training herself is important, making sure her comrades are well-trained is even more so.

* * *

><p><em>Two hundred.<em>

_Two hundred and one._

_Two hundred and two._

He's not stopping, has no plans to stop—_won't _stop until his body refuses to listen to his brain and collapses. And then he'll train again, building his body like an architect builds his most important creation, because he won't be helpless again. He won't be the one frozen, unable to act as those he loves are taken from him.

_Two hundred and three._

His arms are screaming, his face undoubtedly an undignified shade of purple as he pushes his body off the ground and lands on his hands, allowing his entire weight to fall on his wrists as he walks, his feet immobile even as his shoulders scream for him to drop.

_Two hundred and four._

He's stopped counting his training time by hours—choosing instead to count them by minutes. He made his way across the floor and dropped to his feet before leaping into the icy pool waiting for him. His body froze but adjusted quickly—the result of years of the same treatment—and he kicked himself across, holding his arms steadily at his sides.

_Two hundred and five._

He's not just training for his parents anymore. He's not just training for himself. He's not even just training for the League. He's training because he needs it. Watching his body solidify under his hands, learning to control every impulse others would call involuntary—he feels strong. Powerful.

Not a burden.

_Two hundred and six._

Another hour, he'd promised Alfred, another sixty minutes could make or break him. It could make him fast enough to avoid the blow that would make Diana brave the line of fire to save him. It could make him strong enough so he isn't thrown off a cliff and forced to watch Superman abandon a civilian to fly him out of danger.

It could save lives.

He leaps out of the pool and fastens his legs to the wall. The locks will undo automatically after thirty minutes of straight ab-work.

_Two hundred and seven._

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><p><em>Author's Note: Love it, hate it? Give feedback please. Suggestions and prompts are always welcome.<br>_


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